Volcanic island eats another off Japan

By Brad Lendon, CNN

Updated 12:29 PM ET, Mon April 7, 2014

2 islands merge near Japan8 photos

That islet that merged with its neighbor, Nishinoshima island, is continuing to grow. Lava flows on the islet then known as Niijima -- on the right in this November 2014 photo -- have increased the island's size. The islet is in the Ogasawara Islands, also known as the Bonin Islands, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tokyo was first spotted on November 20, 2013, by Japan's coast guard.

Hide Caption

1 of 8

2 islands merge near Japan8 photos

2 islands merge near Japan – On March 30, 2014, the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite captured this image of the combined island. The merged island is now slightly more than six-tenths of a mile across. The growing islet, originally called Niijima, is now considered part of its larger neighbor, Nishinoshima.

2 islands merge near Japan – Two volcanic craters are shown on Niijima on November 22, 2013.

Hide Caption

8 of 8

Story highlights

Island emerged from sea in November

Newly merged island now measures a kilometer across

Continuing eruption means island could have long life

One Japanese island has swallowed another.

NASA's Earth Observatory reports that Niijima island, a volcano which broke through the ocean's surface last November, has now merged with a nearby island that formed from a volcano which last erupted 40 years ago.

Niijima emerged about 500 meters (550 yards) from the older Nishinoshima in November. Now, according to observations taken at the end of March, they are one, measuring about a kilometer (six-tenths of a mile) across. And at its highest point, the new island is 60 meters (almost 200 feet) above sea level. That's triple the highest point observed in December, according to the NASA report.

At its size in December, the new island was expected to last several years, according to Japanese scientists. Because it has continued to grow, it could last much longer.